Smiling at Embers Turned Flames
by supernobodyhome
Summary: An epilogue that takes place over two decades after the thousand year blood war, when peace has returned to the worlds. A young new shinigami takes on a hollow, with a familiar strawberry blond watching him, a smile gracing his lips.


**Smiling at Embers Turned Flames**

"So who was that boy you were talking with Rini?" Ryuji asked his little sister as they began their walk home, a smile spreading across his face as he saw her begin to get embarrassed and blush. He knew full well that the boy was a crush of hers that she had been trying to get the courage to talk to. She began to babble nonsense that he pretended to listen to until his phone rang.

"Ryuji speaking".

"Hey Ryuji, it's Toyo. Feel like hanging out?"

"Did you forget about the big test tomorrow?" Ryuji's voice filled with annoyance. The audible groan on the other end of the line confirmed his suspicions.

"Study group instead?"

"Already ahead of you. My cousin is coming over in about an hour so we can all study when he gets here."

"You're a real friend Ryuji!" Toyo seemed to cry over on the other end.

"No, you're just lucky to know me." He smiled, "I'll see you soon".

"See you", Toyo hung up.

"Toyo needed bailing out again?" Rini asked.

"Not much, just help studying", he said sliding his phone back into his pocket, before realizing they were already home.

"We're home~" Kiri greeted their mother.

"Hi sweety," their mother said returning her daughter's hug, subconsciously straightening out her black ponytail, "How was school today?" She looked down at her daughter's brown eyes.

"Riri finally talked to that boy she likes", Ryuji smiled as his sister's reddening face.

"How did it go?" The mother smiled down at her daughter. Riri started to fumble over her words, nothing coming out coherently. "Oh, kids, your Aunt Orihime and Uncle Uryu are gonna be coming over for dinner tonight."

"Is Aunt Orihime gonna be cooking?" Riri asked innocently.

"No, me and your father are", Rukia smiled awkwardly as she remembered the last time they all had Orihime's cooking. Her thoughts were interrupted as Ryuji's substitute pass went off. He looked at his stern mother's face for a moment before she sighed, simultaneously closing her eyes, "Your father is next door at the clinic. Hurry before he leaves without you." Ryuji's face lit up.

"Thanks mom!" He said before hurrying upstairs and leaving his body in his bed.

"Be careful!" Kiri said as he ran back down the stairs.

"He will be or he's not going to go hollow hunting for a month", Rukia added in.

"I will be. There's no need to worry!" He yelled running out the door, his hand on his zanpaktou's hilt as it hung on his back. The red cloth wrapped around it reminded him of his grandfather's zanpaktou, to which it's sealed form more closely resembled, contrary to the huge thing his father wielded.

"Ready?" Ichigo seemed to appear from nowhere, surprising and simultaneously scarring his son. Ryuji had seen his dad's flash step on multiple occasions, all of which were him playing and joking around with his family, but even then he'd slowed down enough that it wasn't as if he'd just popped out of existence. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Ryuji flustered a bit,

"You didn't scare me, just surprise me!" Ichigo laid a hand on his son's shoulder. Although over two decades older, besides tiny hairs he missed when shaving, he didn't appear much different than he had in his youth, making his son look like a younger version of himself.

"Calm down." The hollow's roar could be heard off in the distance, "We've got work to do." Ryuji nodded in understanding. They both set off running towards the hollow, Ichigo keeping ahead to look out for any dangers his son might have trouble overcoming. Another reason Ichigo was ahead was because Ryuji had just recently began to get the hang of walking on reiatsu in mid-air. It wasn't long before the two seen the hollow in the distance. Ichigo recognized it as one that had gotten away several times from shinigami assigned to the surrounding towns. "Stay to the side Ryuji, I'll take care of this one." Ichigo drew both his blades, before he heard his son draw his sword.

"I can handle this one Dad. Trust me." Ryuji kept his sword tailing behind him in a icepick grip. Ichigo hesitated for a moment.

"I see you get in over your head I will step in", Ichigo put away his bowie knife.

"Thanks dad", Ryuji smiled, before growing serious. He reversed his grip on his zanpaktou, and held it out in front of him, and holding his other arm straight to his left.

"Bursts of flame, wings of embers, burn with my ambition as fuel, Houhu Bao!" A small burst of fire quickly ran down his blade from the tip, doubling its width and turning it almost completely black except for the edge, which glowed red with heat and reiatsu. He gripped the sword with both hands, moving it back into swinging position as red reiatsu gathered along the edge,"Biaochi!" He swung in the direction of the hollow, the built up reiatsu firing at it in the form of an extremely quick dart, or arrow as his uncle would put it. Ryuji smiled proudly as the dart shot at the hollow's head…before missing as the hollow unknowing dodged by lowering its head. "Guess I've still got to practice using biaochi," Ryuji said exasperated at his own incompetence at that moment. He did get the attention of the hollow though, which quickly closed the gap between them and swung its arm at him. Without thought he moved to avoid it, but with only a single jump he had moved far above the hollow in seemingly an instant. Taking the opportunity he was given despite his confusion he held out his left hand and began to gather his reiatsu in his palm, taking the form of a red, fiery sphere. He continued to compress and strengthen it until he was getting close to his limit. If he charged it up too much, it could get out of control and go off in his hand.

When he was learning to use the technique he had blown it up once point-blank and was lucky to have only gotten first degree burns. If he wasn't careful, he could sustain third degree burns across his entire arm.

The hollow looked up and seen Ryuji charging his attack, not wasting time to charge at him, it's open mouth ready to swallow him whole.

"Asahi!" Ryuji threw the sphere into the hollow's gaping maw. When it went off fire spewed from its mouth as it was burnt from the inside out. Recoiling and howling in pain as the fires went out, Ryuji dived down at the hollow, drawing his sword drawn back.

Ryuji landed on his knee, before standing up and walking away from the still and quiet hollow behind him. Its body fell into two even halves as it disintegrated into nothing.

"Thank you for assisting me once again, Houhu Bao" Ryuji said looking down at his sword as it changed back into its sealed state. Looking up as he slid it back into its sheath, his dad was walking towards him.

"You did good Ryuji", Ichigo said smiling, "You surprised me for a moment when you used flash step."

"That's what flash step feels like?" Ryuji was confused. He could barely notice the distance me moved. It seemed almost inconceivable that someone could not only have precise control over it, but also use it in battle as if it was second nature.

"Yeah. Flash step is you moving faster than the eye can follow, going from point A to point B as fast and with as little steps as possible." Ichigo turned, "I'll explain more at home though, your mother and sister must be getting worried something bad happened." Ichigo chuckled. He was truly lucky. He had married his best friend and love, had two wonderful children, and now his son was really well off with his shinigami powers. His future, despite all the battles he had to endure, had turned out bright, and now in the present he had no reason to not smile like he was currently.


End file.
